In a 2018 article in The Commercial Dispatch written by the late Jan Swoope, Judith Carpenter spoke about her husband, Stephen Carpenter, who was reunited with his birth family at the age of 62 after they contacted him.

“It just shows it’s never too late to find family,” she said as they talked about traveling to Germany to meet Stephen’s birth family.

Earlier this year, Judith Carpenter, 62, of Columbus, found her birth mother, who lives in Great Britain and the extended family she didn’t know she had. On July 19, the Columbus resident talked with her mother, Sheila Ann Winstanley, and two sisters, Helen Connor and Jane Winstanley, during a family video chat for the first time.

Like her husband Stephen, Judith is a child born during the baby boom in Europe, shortly after World War II. She was adopted in England by an U.S. Air Force family, while her husband was born in Germany and adopted by a U.S. Army family.

Judith says she talks regularly with her family via video chat. She hopes when international travel gets back to normal, she can save up money to travel to Great Britain to meet them.

Finding her birth family

The search for her birth family began in earnest when Judith took an Ancestry.com DNA test and found a second cousin, Patricia White. She was born in England but has lived in Australia since 1963.

“About two years ago, Judith Mullins Carpenter got in touch with me to say that Ancestry DNA had matched us as second cousins,” White said in an email. “Shortly after that Ancestry DNA let me know that Beverley Kennett who lives in Runcorn in England, just across the River Mersey from Widnes, was also a second cousin.”

Widnes is about 15 miles southeast of Liverpool, near the west coast of England.

Beverley’s great-grandmother was Patricia’s grandfather’s sister.

“I had no idea at all how Judith fitted into my family tree,” Patricia said.

Judith told Patricia that she was adopted by James and Katie Mullins and that she had been born in Blackburn, about 30 miles from Widnes, on April 23, 1959.

“Judith and I talked a lot about what she had been told about the adoption process, but it was not until she sent me a copy of the Provisional Adoption Order she found that we started to get somewhere,” Patricia said. “The Provisional Adoption order which allowed a British child to be adopted and removed from England included Judith’s birth name — Kim Roberts.”

Patricia searched for a birth certificate (called a birth registration in England) and found one. Once she had all the necessary information, she applied for a copy of the birth certificate. In Australia, someone can’t apply for a copy until about 100 years after someone’s birth, but British regulations are more relaxed, Patricia said.

“I applied for one and spent a very frustrating time waiting for it to arrive in Australia. COVID slowed things down a lot,” she said. “I hadn’t told Judith about this as I didn’t want to get her hopes up, but I was thrilled to bits to find that the birth certificate was indeed hers. Kim Roberts born in Blackburn, April 23, 1959, and to clinch things the words ‘provisionally adopted’ written on the certificate.”

The document showed her mother as being Sheila Ann Roberts, a shop assistant, and her address as 1 Hilary Close, Widnes. No father was mentioned on the birth certificate.

“It was very common in those days for single mothers to be sent away to live with friends or relatives or a home for unmarried mothers,” Patricia said. “The baby would be given up for adoption, sometimes the mother never even saw it. Judith’s adoption process was a little different.”

The adoption process

The Mullins went to England in December 1956 and were based at Royal Air Force Station Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, the largest U.S. Air Force base in England.

“They did not go to England to adopt a child as in 1956 it was not possible for someone to remove a child from England for the purpose of adoption,” Patricia said. “This changed with the Adoption Act 1958 which came into force April 17, 1959, only the week before Judith was born. The new act allowed James and Katie to adopt Judith provided that they looked after her for at least six months in England before taking her to the USA.”

Paving the way for a virtual introduction

Once Patricia knew the name of Judith’s birth mother and her address, Beverley drove from her home in Runcorn to 1 Hilary Close in Widnes. While Sheila’s family no longer lived at the address, a neighbor knew where they lived and gave Beverley the address, Judith said.

In July, Beverley went over to introduce herself.

“She asked them if April 29, 1959, was significant to them,” Judith said, noting it is her birthday. “It was.”

Sheila told Helen and Jane later that evening about Judith. Their first Facetime call took place a few days later.

“They called at 4 a.m. in the morning here, and I spoke to my mother for the first time,” Judith said.

Distance can’t stop family similarities

Despite living across the Atlantic Ocean, Judith said she has found many similarities between herself and her newly discovered relatives.

Judith was originally named Kim Roberts. She has a daughter named Kimberly.

Judith’s husband’s name is Stephen. Both her sisters have significant others with the same first name.

“The more we talk, the more we have in common,” she said of her journey to find her birth family. “My husband was called at 62 birthday when he learned his brothers were searching for him. I was 62 when I found my Mum and two sisters I hadn’t known about before.”

She said her British relatives call her “American Jane,” because she is the most like her sister Jane.

“We were raised in two countries but have a lot in common,” Judith said.

Thankful family

Patricia said she was delighted for Judith.

“Her birth mother is a really lovely woman and she and her family have welcomed Judith with open arms,” she said. “I hope very much that Judith, Bev and I will be able to meet in person one day soon.”

Beverley, also called Bev, filmed her first visit with Sheila. She thanked Judith for the rose bouquet Beverley delivered

“It was a very hard time in those days,” Sheila said. “You have a lovely family, and I’m glad you’ve done well.”

While Sheila blew kisses at the camera, Bev was heard saying, “Oh Judith, she still loves you.”

Since meeting her family four months ago, her family grew when Judith’s great nephew, Reggie Bryan, was born.

“My niece, Lisa, had a baby on Nov. 13,” Judith said. “Being raised an only child, I never thought I would be anyone’s aunt, much less a great-aunt. But here I am at 62 learning a new role in a new family.”